2011 Panoplie (1.5 L)

Production Notes

In worthy vintages, Tablas Creek Vineyard produces small quantities of Panoplie: a Mourvèdre-based cuvée from meticulously selected grapes, made in the model of Château de Beaucastel’s Hommage á Jacques Perrin. In 2011, only 750 cases were produced.

The 2011 vintage was our second consecutive winter with healthy rainfall, but yields were dramatically reduced by two nights of frost on April 8th and 9th, impacting early-sprouting grapes like Grenache and Syrah but largely sparing the late-sprouting Mourvedre. Despite the low crop loads, ripening was slow due to a very cool summer, and harvest roughly three weeks later than normal, beginning in mid-October and not concluding until early-November. Warm, sunny weather during harvest allowed Mourvèdre to reach full maturity. The long hangtime and low yields combined to produce fruit with notable richness balanced by higher than usual acidity, all at low alcohol levels. Syrah was harvested between September 30th and November 9th, followed by Grenache between October 4th and October 9th, and Mourvèdre between October 18th and November 9th.

Each lot was individually fermented using native yeasts in either upright oak casks or stainless steel fermenters. After pressing, the wines were moved into barrel, blended, and aged in one 1200-gallon French oak foudre before being bottled in May 2013.

Tasting Notes

The Tablas Creek Vineyard Panoplie 2011 shows a wealth of both fruity and savory aromas, including blueberries, plum pit and olive tapenade. The mouth shows a lovely melted licorice character, rich yet tangy, with a saline note characteristic of many 2011's, and a spice note in balance with fruit and mineral components. The finish is long, clean and complex, with beautiful balance. We expect it to drink well for another year or so, then tighten up for a few years before reopening around 2019 and drinking well for two to three decades.

By Category

Paso Robles Harvest Wine Weekend

Join us in the tasting room all weekend for a first look at our flagship wines: 2013 Esprit de Tablas and 2013 Esprit de Tablas Blanc.Friday night: Enjoy a four-course, four-wine dinner at McPhee's Grill in Templeton. Seats at the dinner are $105/per person (inclusive of tax and gratuity) and reservations are essential. Details »Saturday: join us in the cellar at Tablas Creek for a series of interactive demonstrations. Demonstrations will be ongoing from 10am - 3pm and are free to all guests. Details »

Tasting the Wines in the Fall 2015 VINsider Club Shipments

July 31, 2015Each spring and fall, we send out a selection of six wines to the members of our VINsider Wine Club. In many cases, these are wines that only go out to our club. In others, the club gets a first look at wines that may see a later national release. And with each shipment, we reintroduce ourselves to these wines (which, in some cases, we may not have tasted since before bottling) with a tasting that we use to write the notes that will be included in the club shipments. Read More »